Warning Of Adiposity (Obesity) Epidemic In Europe

Scoop Report: Europeans are being warned about a mass increase in obesity with a recent report finding within the European Union over 200 million people are obese. The EU Commission hopes food manufacturers and the food industry will adopt voluntary measures to fight against adiposity.

EU Health Commissar Markos Kyprianou presented an action platform for nourishment and physical exercise. The plan brings together representatives of food industry, retail industry, catering industry, advertising industry, consumer councils and non-government health organisations. Kyprianou warned of a real epidemic in Europe: According to estimations of the EU Commission more than 200 million adults within the EU are overweight or obese.

“The industry, civil society and governments must work together to counter the increasing obesity of our children”, demands the EU Commissar.

He announced first initiatives for next year. “The gain of weight of Europeans has devastating consequences for public health and leads to enormous economic costs. Europe is on the edge of an adiposity epidemic, which is as bad as the North American one. Especially the growing rate of overweight and obesity among school children worries me”, warned the Commissar.

The number of overweight school children in the EU increases by 400,000 per year. The problem of adiposity had been underestimated too long in Europe, because some countries reported less cases than there actually were, said the EU institution.

Adiposity thus causes approximately two to eight per cent of the costs in community health.

Being overweight also increases the risk factor for several severe diseases such as heart diseases, hypertension, apoplectic stroke, respiratory diseases, arthritis and certain types of cancer. Wrong nutrition and a lack of physical exercise are the most common causes of avoidable deaths.

Kyprianou expects the first initiatives of his plan to begin next year.

Within the next few months EU members should present plans of action to enhance healthier nourishment or to encourage people to intensify their physical exercise. Furthermore the platform will audit whether the declared aims were achieved.

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